While Wednesday night was largely a celebration for the entire Los Angeles Dodgers organization with Clayton Kershaw recording his 3,000th career strikeout, Max Muncy’s injury hovered like a dark cloud.
Muncy suffered a left knee injury in the sixth inning when Michael A. Taylor slid into his leg while trying to steal third base with the Chicago White Sox holding a 4-2 lead.
The extent of Muncy’s injury was not initially clear, with the worst-case scenario being that his season was over. However, an MRI on Thursday morning revealed there isn’t any structural damage in Muncy’s left knee. He went on the 10-day injured list with an official designation is a left knee bone bruise.
“It was kind of twofold,” Muncy said of the MRI results. “It was tough news, but it was also great news. In terms of when you look at the play and the injury that could’ve happened, we possibly got best-case scenario.
“There’s no structural damage in there, which is huge. That was definitely a pleasant relief, but the timetable still kind of sucks for me personally.
“You’re looking at around six weeks; maybe a little before, maybe a little after. Tough blow, but at the same time, I still get to play baseball this year instead of coming back next year around April. It was kind of best-case scenario.”
Muncy initially feared the worst as he was faced with the unpleasant task of processing what just occurred, and how severe of an injury it could be.
“To be honest, the first thing that popped into my head was the end of the season in 2021. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling,” Muncy said. “You immediately start replaying everything in your head, trying to say, ‘What did I feel? Did I feel a pop? Did I hear a pop?’ All that kind of stuff, that way you can give the medical staff a best chance at evaluation.
“Anytime you’re replaying an injury in your head, it’s not fun.”
Even though he is disappointed to have an estimated six-week recovery timeline, Muncy is aware the alternative could have been catastrophic.
“It was obviously amazing hearing the news that nothing was torn, nothing was ripped. That was obviously a huge sigh of relief for me,” he said. “But it still sounds like too long of a time in my head.
“You can’t really control that. Like I said, if you go back and look at the play, the injuries that could’ve happened from that, we’re definitely walking away from this very lucky.”
While the timeline is about six weeks, Muncy could return a little sooner, or slightly after.
“It’s all just dependent,” he said. “We’re going to obviously be pretty aggressive with the treatment and everything, but it’s whenever my body says it’s healthy.
“Like I said, there’s obviously a timeline, but it could be before, or it could be a little bit after. Obviously we’re hoping for the before, but it’s just how it heals.”
Dave Roberts’ reaction to Max Muncy’s injury
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was relived when he learned that Muncy’s diagnosis left the door open for him to return this season.
However, Roberts also acknowledged that Muncy’s injury will have to be managed this season once he is activated off the injured list.
“I think it’s probably to the touch, I think it’ll carry on to next year,” Roberts said. “I’ve had those, and there’s certainly to a point where you can play, but then there’s still the part of to the touch, it still gets sensitive.
“So I think that’s going to be around for a while, unfortunately.”
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